Sunday, April 15, 2007

The need for speed

Yesterday morning I was bit by the "I want to make something right now" bug; the kind where I wanted to start and finish something (I don't seem to get the "I want to work on finishing a WIP" bug often enough) NOW. It wasn't a good day for it -- Dean had his first soccer game of the season and we had to go to the in-laws for a belated Easter dinner (with barely time for Dean to shower and change in between). But I forged ahead to make a case for my new magnifiers, and here it is.

When I went for my eye exam recently, I told the doctor that I really wanted to leave with a prescription for bi-focal contacts. I am very, very near-sighted and have to wear either glasses or (most often) contacts to function. The problem with the contacts is that they really degrade my close-up vision, so that it's nearly impossible for me to thread a needle if I'm wearing them. But, apparently my vision is such that bi-focal contacts would have a negative effect on my distance vision and that my need is not extreme enough to call for them (guess the eye doctor doesn't consider needle-threading to by a critical need). SO, instead, I was advised to pick up a pair of magnifiers (inexpensive reading glasses that you can get at the drugstore, among other places). Of course I had to wait until I found a somewhat decent looking pair (at a big bookstore, as it turns out) and then I needed something to put them in. Voila! This puppy is made with upholstery fabric left over from doing the chairs in my kitchen, is lined with pale green terry cloth purchased for making baby sleepers for Dean (never accomplished) and has a Timtex substitute (Pel-tex, I think, made by Pellon) in it to keep the case from getting completely crushed. I did no advance planning, no measuring, and no looking back -- just started cutting and sewing and making it up as I went. I didn't even bother to change the thread in my machine, so intent I was on just DOING it. Do you get like this sometimes? Just throw caution to the wind in the drive to make something NOW? It feels good to have this done; now if I can just remember to take it along with me (spare me from getting to the point where I feel compelled to buy a "glasses leash" to wear the things around my neck...).

Don't *pin* my content

Check out this book with my work in it!

Focus: Letters

The story

My son, then about 4 years old, was being his wild self right at bedtime. I said, "no more monkey business!" in my best stern-mom voice, and he looked me gleefully in the eye and declared, "infinity more monkeys!"